Two Chefs plan expansion in Midvalley

A California-based prepared-foods company recently expanded threefold its lease for space in Jessup where it manufactures condiments.

Two Chefs on a Roll Inc. signed a 10-year lease committing to larger quarters at a building it occupies in the Jessup Small Business Center, said Vincent Ranalli, an executive at CBRE Group Inc., a commercial real estate company based in Los Angeles.

Two Chefs, a Los Angeles-area company that makes chilled foods for supermarkets and restaurants, will expand by 38,627 square feet to a space covering nearly 58,000 square feet, Mr. Ranalli said.

"We are thrilled, obviously, that they made a long-term commitment," said Mr. Ranalli, who represented the building's owner, KBS Real Estate Investment Trust of California.

Two Chefs will add a warehousing and distribution operation at the site and probably expand production, said John Gorman, chief executive.

"We have consolidated some space in a separate location into the new space to make it more efficient," he said. "We also wanted to make sure we had the capability to expand in Jessup. Having the right facility and production lines there are important."

The company, which employs 60 people in Jessup, plans eventually to double output at the plant and produce a larger variety of sauces, dressings and dips, including salsas, Mr. Gorman said.

"We are looking to expand into the new production with additional manufacturing capability," he said.

The expansion occurs as prepared food sales are expected to outpace restaurant performance over the next nine years, a consumer research company predicts.

Prepared food purchases at supermarkets and other retailers will grow by 10 percent by 2022, compared to a 4 percent increase in restaurant visits, projects NPD Group, a Long Island consulting company.

"We are looking for ways to make life easier," said Harry Balzer, a food and beverage analyst at NPD. "The two values of our life are our time and our money. They are immediately measurable."

Retailers profit from and promote the growing popularity of prepared foods, Mr. Balzer said. Ready-to-eat items are convenient and fit into time-constrained schedules, he said.

"It is more expensive than you making it yourself, but it is less expensive than you going out to eat," he said.

Two Chefs opened the plant in 2008 and the company's expanded area includes a space formerly occupied by BAE Systems Inc., a British company that manufactures military helmets and body armor in Jessup. BAE consolidated operations in a nearby building at the business park.

Two Chefs, which also makes baked goods, appetizers and other prepared fare, is a subsidiary of Bakkavor, a London-based prepared food giant that reported 2012 sales of $2.77 billion.

Contact the writer: jhaggerty@timesshamrock.com

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